Live data from Hacker News

Road signs to help people limit radiation exposure in contaminated areas

theautopian.com

111–120 of 216 posts

Re: Road signs to help people limit radiation exposure in contaminated areas

#111
post #22

The title and some of the comments assume it would be something like if you take 15 extra minutes you would just die . When in reality it would just be an increase in cancer risk. If it were THAT contaminated they'd use the AREA CLOSED the article mentions anyways. To be fatal within days you need about 10,000 mSv of exposure. Even with heavy fallout, exposure would probably be around 10 mSv per hour.

I'd imagine the concern is the radioactive dust / fallout getting stuck onto the vehicle, clothes, and hair which would increase your exposure time; getting through that zone as quick as possible could limit that dust sticking. But that's just my guess.

This is the problem. It's not just being in the area, it's inhalation/ingestion and direct exposure to radioactive dust. If you look at [https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/Quick%2...], the levels just from increased radiation from a single detonation there are certainly not fatal in a few minutes, but with multiple detonations it's not difficult to get a lethal dose in a few or hours or a day or two. Couple that with the inhalation/contamination issue, and yeah, be afraid.

If I saw that sign I'd be a hell of a lot more concerned than "oh, miniscule cancer risk later in life, meh, I guess I'll just slowboat this one".

Re: Road signs to help people limit radiation exposure in contaminated areas

#112

Weird. I wonder how those signs were supposed to be installed. So dangerous you need to blow through at 120mph, but safe enough for a worker to stand there for awhile installing a new sign.

You put the sign far enough outside the zone, you wear ppe, and you decontaminate afterwards.

Re: Road signs to help people limit radiation exposure in contaminated areas

#113

Weird. I wonder how those signs were supposed to be installed. So dangerous you need to blow through at 120mph, but safe enough for a worker to stand there for awhile installing a new sign.

The sign could be installed using appropriate safety gear no?

Re: Road signs to help people limit radiation exposure in contaminated areas

#114

Driving in montana before the state implemented a max speed, I'd have my cruise control set at 100 mph. I remember seeing limos pass me like I was sitting still. I miss those days.

What a perfect invitation to get on one of my favorite soapboxes. Spoiler: I'm a big fan of Brock Yates. Speed limits are an imperfect tool for an important problem. They were generally much higher, or nonexistent, on US highways before the 1973 oil crisis [0]. They were intended to save fuel, but weren't very effective. Nowadays, most people discuss them as a safety tool. They aren't great for that, either. Speed di…

> Also worth considering is that, even if higher limits reduce the rate of accidents, accidents at higher speeds are almost universally more severe.

Obviously this is true, and especially important at low speeds, but I wonder how much difference there is between 70 and 80 — I would have assumed they are both typically fatal

Re: Road signs to help people limit radiation exposure in contaminated areas

#115
post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That notion didn't stop Russia from scorching Ukraine, can't see why it would stop China.

The issue Russia does have with Ukraine is it has to keep it's ships and planes away from Ukrainian areas or they get shot down. That'd be a problem for invading Taiwan.

There have been wargames where it has been simulated with China using its entire commercial fishing fleet as the amphibious assault force. It wouldn't be easily stoppable.

Re: Road signs to help people limit radiation exposure in contaminated areas

#116
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>nationalism that led us into WWI and WWII. WW1 kicked off due to a royal getting murdered in broad daylight which triggered a cascade of alliances. Nationality had nothing to do with it. WW2 kicked off due to the victors of WW1 raping Germany so bad they had nothing but nationalism to hold on to. American nationalism also initially wanted nothing to do with WW2, begrudgingly started helping behind the curtains once…

> WW1 kicked off due to a royal getting murdered in broad daylight which triggered a cascade of alliances. Nationality had nothing to do with it. The murderer Gavrilo Princip was a Serbian nationalist, who committed the murder for nationalist reasons.

So you’re saying that if we want to avoid World War 3 we have to get rid of nationalism in Serbia?

Re: Road signs to help people limit radiation exposure in contaminated areas

#117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> North Korea will increase the range of its missiles to reliably hit the entire US. Getting a ballistic missile to hit the continental US is the first of many problems they'll need to solve before I start losing any sleep. They also need to be able to hit a location accurately. And they need a hypersonic reentry vehicle capable of delivering a nuclear payload without disintegrating the bomb or prematurely burning up…

North Korea has successfully tested multiple missile launches on a lofted trajectory that demonstrated an intercontinental range. I believe both the hwasong 17 and 18 are capable of hitting the continental United States. Rentry vehicles have been demonstrated multiple times. Accuracy is a bit more of a concern, but with a thermonuclear weapon missing a city by 10 miles is still more than enough to cause millions of c…

Jesus, I hadn't realized they had come so far. Apparently NK gained the ability to hit the entire continental US with Hwasong 15. The latest iterations are suspected of being designed to contain MRVs or MIRVs, which would completely overwhelm US missile defenses. It is insane that we let them go down this road.

Re: Road signs to help people limit radiation exposure in contaminated areas

#118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

North Korea has successfully tested multiple missile launches on a lofted trajectory that demonstrated an intercontinental range. I believe both the hwasong 17 and 18 are capable of hitting the continental United States. Rentry vehicles have been demonstrated multiple times. Accuracy is a bit more of a concern, but with a thermonuclear weapon missing a city by 10 miles is still more than enough to cause millions of c…

Jesus, I hadn't realized they had come so far. Apparently NK gained the ability to hit the entire continental US with Hwasong 15. The latest iterations are suspected of being designed to contain MRVs or MIRVs, which would completely overwhelm US missile defenses. It is insane that we let them go down this road.

Even they know that if one launched from their end they would all cease to exist within minutes.

Re: Road signs to help people limit radiation exposure in contaminated areas

#119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hong Kong was very different than Taiwan would be. Taiwan will be a bloodbath as an armed, diehard anti-communist population fights to the death. And if China just wants to blow it all to bits, what was the point? They want to dominate the country and its people, not own a smoldering ruin.

That notion didn't stop Russia from scorching Ukraine, can't see why it would stop China.

Russia isn’t as smart as China.
Post reply on HN